Rain
by BuzyIzzy
Summary: It started out as a battle, plain and simple: kill before you're killed. It ended as so much more. NOT YAOI
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters.**

_O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o Rain_

_They stood together under the rain. It had not rained this hard in months. Now, it seemed to Toshiro like the very ocean was collapsing on them. Onii-san held the umbrella above him, despite Toshiro's arguing that he would be soaked. By the time Toshiro had finished his sentence, Onii-san argued that he was already soaked._

_It was true; Onii-chan's suit was soaked and his black hair clung to his face. Toshiro stood under the umbrella at the bus stop and waited, wondered why he had forgotten his own umbrella at home. The bus never came. He and Onii-chan waited for nearly an hour before Onii-chan sighed and took Toshiro's hand. Toshiro looked up at his older brother's green eyes, then down at the dripping wet hand closed over his own. Of all the days for their bus to just not come, it had to be on the wettest day of the year._

_So, they walked. Toshiro shouldered his school bag and kept his head down. "What did you learn in school, Shiro-chan?" Onii-san asked. Toshiro strained to pick up his brother's soft voice above the rain, smiled when he heard the question. "We did division today. It was easy." He bragged. They stopped at a crosswalk, peering at both sides of the road. He thought of asking Onii-chan about work, changed his mind when he remembered how late Onii-chan had come home yesterday. "Will mommy and daddy come home soon?" He asked, watching his brother's face. He was getting old enough to see what lay behind people's eyes, becoming adept at getting people to say what they thought._

_He saw enough of a flash to know the answer was __**no**__. But instead, Onii-chan squeezed his hand, "Maybe." They crossed the street. It was as Onii-chan was dragging Toshiro across the road that he saw the light. Toshiro was caught between yelling at his brother and running. It was their bus, late and coming home. Then, all he saw was white._

There was the scent of blood. Copper and salty, it mixed with a dozen other scents on the breeze. A pleasant morning in the Soul Society ruined by filthy Arrancar. Toshiro grit his teeth, bringing himself out of the daydream. They had been getting more frequent and vivid since they had received the news that the Arrancar were coming to the Soul Society. Toshiro had attributed it to stress and an upcoming battle. Matsumoto had unhelpfully called it him finally snapping. He had considered, briefly, if anyone would notice if he disposed of her.

Now, they were here. Toshiro grit his teeth, leading his squad to the set of Arrancar they were to fight. By whatever math his informants had told him he would be battling the fourth Espada of Aizen's army. He longed to fight Aizen himself, resigned the thought with the knowledge that this was his role. Another vision hit him, forcing him to stop. _Not now, _he thought as the colors blurred around him, _not now, not now not now…_

_Now._

_He was doing his homework. Pretending not to notice the hole in his world where his parents had once been. Pretending not to notice that Onii-chan had given him a new address and that they now lived on a different part of town and that grandma's house still had one of his books. The door opened, and then shut again. Toshiro kept his head down, scribbling numbers onto the lines. Words into the gaps. The shadow fell across his room briefly, and then disappeared. He put his pen down, carefully pushed it into a perfectly straight line and slid off of his chair. Onii-chan was in the kitchen, slicing watermelon. Toshiro tried to still be angry at him, still keep his face in a frown. Onii-chan looked at him, and his face was blurred. There were no features, no eyes or even hair. Toshiro frowned, because that wasn't right because his Onii-chan had – _

It ended, as suddenly as it had begun. His squad was in complete disarray, and he set to barking orders, organizing the shinigami under his care. His squad. The first blood was spilled just to his right. His third seat was there one moment, then a slumped bleeding figure the next. He changed tactics to deal with this, bunching the shinigami and placing himself at the fore. Something wasn't right. There was supposed to be underlings, other hollows or Arrancar that they would have to deal with to defeat one of Aizen's pawns.

Toshiro watched, carefully, as one of his fellow shinigami fell without as much as a sound. Then he struck. Steel against steel set the first notes of battle. He narrowed his eyes at the Arrancar, knew that he needed to lead it away from the others before the newbies got hurt or killed in the fray and flash-stepped backwards. Air whizzed near his ear, telling him that his throat would have been slit if he had been just milliseconds slower.

This Arrancar knew his zanpakto and would not hesitate. Toshiro braced himself, because he needed to kill it before others were killed. He avoided another attack, seeing a strand of hair falling this time. He twisted, catching his sword on his opponents and faltered. The eyes, though utterly intent on shearing him in half, brought on another attack. His muscles locked out of instinct, and he saw a face echoing in his mind. He cursed, willing life back to his limbs and countering the neat slash that was meant to take off his head. "You are…younger than expected." The thing said, and Toshiro was sure a vein popped somewhere in his head. He pressed a hand to his cheek, felt the blood there.

It was a shallow cut. He met the eyes of the Arrancar. "Reign over the frosted heavens, Hyourinmaru!" His shikai activated, he launched himself at the Arrancar, testing again. And again. And again. They clashed, Toshiro noting with some annoyance that the marks he made on the Arrancar disappeared nearly immediately. So fast he would have missed it if he did not pay attention. He dropped back, conserving his strength, aiming for vital points.

They were matched almost evenly. The difference was that Toshiro's wounds stayed.

They spoke at the same time:

"Bankai"

"Imprison,"

Neither made an attempt to hide their reiatsu. Neither held back. Neither showed mercy as the world seemed to quake. Toshiro was aware, vaguely, that it only seemed that way because almost all of the captains were fighting powerful Arrancar. His winning move was made when one of the districts began to cheer. His opponent paused, flinched as though he himself had received a blow. It was only seconds. Toshiro only needed seconds. It was a cut to an artery, the heart pushing out the body's precious blood. Toshiro stood stone faced above the _thing_, blade to its throat. Its face was resigned, possibly annoyed.

The attack hit without warning.

_It was Saturday. Toshiro knew because he was sleepy and it was hot and he needed to tell Onii-chan to buy more popsicles. Preferably watermelon flavored. He stood up, yawned, and looked out the window. Still no sign of Onii-chan. The front door opened, and Onii-chan came in, holding the box of the coveted popsicles awkwardly. Toshiro ran up, grinning and already reaching out to take the treat._

_Toshiro knew that face. He knew it now, but not as he had known it then. "Thank you Ulquiorra-san."_

His world was shattered. The Arrancar was still looking up at him, almost bored looking, and Toshiro had the feeling of dozens of spiders beneath his skin. "End it, shinigami." Those words, that voice, nothing matched the flood of memories pouring behind his eyes. He stood, shaking, and swore softly, sinking his blade instead into the Arrancar's arm and wrapping the wound he created with a strip of cloth from his uniform.

Something glinted behind its eyes, something that told Toshiro perhaps he should have thought it out. Cold fingers were around his throat, lifting him from the ground. He stared down the Arrancar, but there was a mild curiosity behind his eyes instead of that cold intent to kill. "You will regret the decision to spare my life." Toshiro would have answered, but he was finding it challenging enough to just breathe. He focused on the red stain blooming beneath the strip of cloth, on his own injuries that would need care. He looked around as best he could, found that they had cleared a considerable amount of land in their battle. His vision throbbed with spots of black, and the grip slackened some.

Then it tightened and his world was black.

Toshiro awoke in a cell of some sort. He was dressed in his hakama still, but his zanpakto was gone. There was a cart with a pitcher of water on it and a glass. Toshiro rubbed the back of his head and checked for any injuries that would need tending soon before they became infected. To his surprised they were all bandaged. "You are awake." Toshiro's head snapped around to the doorway and origin of the voice. The Arrancar – Toshiro was trying to refuse to call it by its name – was standing there. He noticed the wound on its neck was gone.

"Thank you for stating the obvious." He snapped, standing. "Try not to move too much. You will reopen your wounds, and Szayel most likely wants an intact specimen." _Sounds like someone I know. _Toshiro thought, scowling. This _thing_ was not his brother. Not now, not ever. "When I see him I'll let him know what he can do, Ulquiorra." Toshiro said. From the corner of his eye he saw the Arrancar tense. But it disappeared quickly. "I don't recall telling my name to trash such as you." It said. Toshiro bit back a few choice words involving what he thought of its parents married state and where he could put his head.

Instead he shrugged. There was silence and Toshiro poured himself some water, trying to check to see if it was drugged. He felt no changes to his reiatsu or state of mind and his body certainly still worked. He paced, mostly. A prisoner. It irked him. He woke, sometimes, with new wounds and food came regularly. But as far as he could tell Ulquiorra was avoiding him.

The answer to the silence in his prison came a few long days later.

Toshiro woke bound, gagged, and tied to a table. His thoughts came in rapid succession.

_Wow, this seems like something out of a cheap porn film._

_Curse Rangiku._

_Where am I?_

_What's going on?_

Footsteps landed lightly near him.

_Who's in here?_

A voice, too familiar, spoke. "The others have not arrived yet after defeating your comrades." Toshiro would have mocked the Arrancar, if he was not gagged. "It seems that I am the first to return to Hueco Mundo after the fight."

"Oo Uck." Toshiro managed. It came out choked through the gag. Apparently, the Arrancar didn't hear. Or, at least pretended not to. "When Lord Aizen returns he will decide what to do with you. Until then, I will determine your fate." The words were cold, with no hint of emotion. Toshiro heard the gentle clink of glass, waited for whatever would come next. He was completely unprepared for the first incision. Small, shallow, and against the sensitive skin of his neck. He kept his body relaxed when a second incision was made close to the first, a little longer, a little deeper, a little more painful than the previous one. Four slices were made on his throat. He counted. Four were made on his chest, four more on the inside of his left arm. He gasped when there was a pause, and then sharp pain on his right arm.

Then it was numb. "I merely severed the tendon in your elbow, rendering it useless. I applied a paralytic to your lower body to restrict you from escaping." Ulquiorra said. Only now, when Toshiro tried to struggle did he realize he couldn't feel his legs at all. He fisted his left hand, mentally going over all the ways he would kill – and stopped, because the accursed memories of warm summer days and all-nighters for school work were eating away at him. _It's not the same!_ He thought. There was a feather-light touch at the back of his head, and the blindfold was gone. He was back in the room, staring at his own bleeding body. His legs – he didn't recognize them. It looked as though they had been flayed and then put back together in one pulpy bleeding mess. Or maybe gone through a shredder. Either way, they didn't look good. He sat there, tried to drag himself across the room and failed, and was suddenly grateful for the paralytic that prevented him from feeling the many wounds over his body.

It took him most of the day, and well into Las Noches black night for him to heave himself onto the cell's couch, panting and feeling bits of sensation as feeling returned to his body. He hurt. He closed his eyes, thought of home and grandmother. Was immediately countered by his traitorous mind's memories of when he was alive. _That thing is no longer my brother._ He thought. It didn't help. He opened his eyes, tried to stay awake. He needed to keep watch, in case something occurred. Eventually, though, his eyes sank shut and he slipped into sleep.

_It was cold outside. Toshiro was exited, because it had snowed the previous night and he had a day off. Onii-chan wasn't here, though, so he found himself pouting and watching TV. It was a blizzard and he didn't get to play in it __**or**__ get any hot chocolate. It thrilled his childish mind to no end when Onii-chan came home early, promised to take him to the park._

_No one else was out yet, and the snow was a wall of white still falling. Toshiro was excited, when they reached the park. Other kids weren't there, or had already left, and he didn't miss Onii-chan's sarcastic remark that no other kid in the neighborhood was stupid enough to play outside in a blizzard. Toshiro stuck his tongue out at his brother and set to making an army of snowmen to guard the park. In the end he had to recruit Onii-chan for the construction of his fort and bases._

_Snow days were the best. Even after Toshiro was back in the apartment and under at least three blankets, he found himself longing to be back outside, back in the snow._

It was dark when Toshiro woke up again. He was covered in cold sweat and clean bandages. He cursed, rubbed away the sleep in his eyes. He had fallen asleep. He went to sit up, found his right arm still unresponsive and his legs sending dozens of signals to his brain. All of them were along the lines of _Abort! Abort! _He wondered why it was so dark outside, and saw the wide crack in the sky. He blinked at it through his window, and then realized what it was.

An illusion of sun and sky. Toshiro scowled at the darkness beyond. Hueco Mundo was a realm of darkness, where only the moon existed. It was strangely fitting, considering what lived in the deserts. The rough sound of stone on stone reached his ears. He turned, continued scowling when he saw the Arrancar at the threshold of the open door. "The canopy is disappearing." The words were flat and cold, as usual. "What is your purpose? Why keep me here?" Toshiro asked. He received no answer, instead watching the door shut as Ulquiorra walked in. "Your fate is not mine to decide. I have done what seems appropriate and now await orders from Aizen-sama. When he returns from the Soul Society you will have your answers."

Toshiro looked back outside the window. It seemed as though the crack had grown bigger since he looked away, but maybe that was his imagination. "So you crippled me." He said acidly. "Yes." Ulquiorra agreed. Toshiro looked back over, felt disgust rising in the back of his throat. But, instead of saying what he was going to, his traitorous mind had him say something else. "I'm bored, hungry, and bleeding again. Do something about it."

He felt a twinge of pleasure at the annoyance visible in Ulquiorra's eyes, but the Arrancar merely turned and exited the cell. Toshiro lay back on the pillow, wished he at least had Hyourinmaru for some conversation, and fell asleep.

When he woke the room smelled of antiseptic and…was that curry? Ulquiorra was standing right in front of him, and he jerked backwards. "I have found sustenance for you." Ulquiorra said blankly. Toshiro sat up, wincing at his still sore body. "What about my boredom?" He asked. There was that annoyance again, but the Espada turned, retrieving a Go board. "I will spend my time in your quarters to stimulate your mental powers." He said.

It sounded like a treatment to a horrible illness, coming from him. Toshiro scowled, ignored it, and pushed himself up as best he could. "Good. I'm starved." He said. The food was served, Toshiro awkwardly eating with his left hand. Then, Go board between them, they played. It was silent, no birds or rustling outside. Toshiro found it disturbing that any place could be so quiet. He chose white, the irony of the decision only hitting him later. "When do you think Aizen will be back?" He asked. "As soon as his business is concluded, Aizen-_sama _will return."

Toshiro rolled his eyes. Each moment spent in Ulquiorra's presence was revealing just how blindly devoted the Arrancar was. _Think of him as an Arrancar._ Toshiro thought after Ulquiorra was gone. He lay flat on the couch again, hoping the severed tendon in his arm would heal quickly. He slept again that night, hoping his sleep was dreamless. He had no such luck.

_It was dark. Toshiro was huddled under the blankets in the room he and Onii-chan shared. Their parents weren't just yelling – they were screaming loud enough to make the neighbors around them thump on the walls. He slid out of bed, wished they were still at grandma's house. He crawled under the covers to where Onii-chan lay on his side. Toshiro knew him well enough to know he wasn't sleeping. He snuggled close to his brother, squeezed his eyes shut. Doors were being slammed, something glass shattered against a wall._

_There was a single, loud bang and then it was quiet again. He heard his mother screeching, but that too was brief. Toshiro clung to Oni-chan until the sirens came and the people came and ushered the two of them out of the apartment. At the time, he had been too young to understand what was going on. He saw his mother, briefly, but she wouldn't look at him. He frowned at that. But he was sleepy and it was past his bedtime, anyway._

Curses. Toshiro cursed the dreams a hundred fold. He cursed that he was one of those who remembered being human. He cursed having the memories. He opened his eyes a crack and shut them. He opened them again to look at the figure standing at the foot of the couch. "Yammy, Aaroneiro, Szayel, Nnoitra, Hallibel, Baraggan, and Stark are dead. Slain by your comrades." Toshiro sat up, grimacing. Outside was completely dark now, the pale light of the moon shining down. "What time is it?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.

"It is well into the afternoon."

Toshiro paused. "It is always night here, shinigami." Toshiro scowled. "My name is Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya." He said. "I wonder, would Aizen-sama punish me for killing you to avenge the deaths of my comrades?" Ulquiorra said. Toshiro continued scowling, trying to move his right arm. It refused to cooperate, a dead weight on his shoulder. "They were weak, to be killed." Ulquiorra continued. Toshiro focused, but not even his fingers twitched. "Aizen-sama will return." Toshiro turned, looked at the Arrancar. "Some people don't return." Toshiro said. They glared at each other, silent. "There is sustenance for you in the room." Ulquiorra said, and was gone. Toshiro glared at the smooth wall where he had disappeared and looked around the room.

Sure enough, there was food on the far side of the room. Toshiro growled, checked his now freshly bandaged wounds and began the crawl. This time was more painful. He could feel every agonized cell as he went across the room. He reminded himself why he was doing this. Soon he would be healed. He needed to eat, to keep his strength up. He needed to find a way to stop thinking of the Arrancar as his brother. He needed to remind himself this was a soul eating monster.

Halfway to the low table his body gave out. He tried, honestly, to keep dragging himself forward. But the burning pain in his legs and his useless right arm dragging against the floor slowed him down, sapped his strength away. He laid there, cheek pressed against the cool floor and looking up at the meal he had come so close to. He wasn't sure when his breathing evened out, but suddenly he was tired, too tired to try and struggle with the world any longer.

_Toshiro was angry. He couldn't remember why he was angry at Onii-chan now, but he was so angry. He sat on his bed, looking out the window. He could hear someone talking with Onii-chan in the kitchen, another one of those ladies in their suits. Onii-chan's voice was low; the woman's voice was high and hurt his ears. The woman opened his door. Toshiro remembered he was supposed to be on his best behavior around this lady. "Are you his __**girlfriend**__?" Toshiro asked. He saw her cheeks redden, but the lady smiled at him sweetly._

_It was a smile Toshiro hated. He hated these people pitying him. "How are you today?" The woman asked. Toshiro sat through her questions, nodding politely and aware of the tension in Onii-chan's shoulders from where he stood in the doorway. After the lady left, he turned around and glared at Onii-chan. "Mom and dad aren't coming back, are they?" He demanded. Onii-chan looked away, at the wall. Toshiro found it infuriating. "They're not?" He asked. He suddenly felt very small and young. "I'm sorry, Shiro-kun." Onii-chan said._

_Tears welled in his eyes. He refused to let them fall, because he was thirteen now, and thirteen-year-olds didn't cry. Onii-chan didn't call him 'kun' often. Toshiro stood there for a long moment, fists clenched and lip trembling. "I don't believe you." He said. His words surprised him, because some part of him had known that after that night he would not see either parent again. He also knew that Onii-chan was always looking out for him, always keeping him safe and happy even if he had to suffer. Onii-chan seemed surprised too. "You're lying. They'll come back, and then we can be happy again." He said._

_Without another word he turned and ran, skipping steps as he went down the stairs. He heard Onii-chan's steps behind him, always a little faster than his. "Toshiro! Come back!" Toshiro ignored his brothers call, ignored the rare raising of his voice as he pushed the apartment's lobby's door open and kept running. He didn't make it far. Onii-chan's arms closed around him, kept him from getting further away. He punched and kicked at Onii-chan, sobbed when he was placed back in the apartment until his rage was gone._

_Then he curled up and slept._

Toshiro woke up gasping for air. _Again, _He noted with annoyance. But as his eyes adjusted to the pale moonlight, he saw the plate in front of him instead of on the coffee table. His hand was shaking when he ate, aware that his right arm had been bandaged and a neat row of stitches were in the crook of his elbow. He lay there, wondering what to do next when he saw the moonlight reflect the eyes of the Arrancar in the room with him.

Toshiro looked up, still blinking away remnants of the dream. "Let me sleep." He murmured. The Arrancar didn't move, didn't do anything. Toshiro sighed, shifted a little, and then felt the iciest pair of hands physically capable of being on earth (or in this case, Las Noches) pick him up. He felt himself being deposited unceremoniously on the couch, and a few moments later a blanket draped over his body. He sighed, wondered what was considered 'day' when there was only ever night, and slipped back into his dreams.

_After his fit and attempt to run away Toshiro lay on his bed. He ignored Onii-chan's call for dinner, pretended to be asleep when Onii-chan came to the doorway._

_In the morning he came out of his room and tip-toed into the kitchen to get ready for school. Onii-chan was asleep on the counter, leaning against the cabinets above with a cereal bowl held precariously on his lap. Toshiro hesitated, saw a bruise on his temple that hadn't been there before. He thought of waking him up so that Onii-chan could get ready for work, but he chickened out, instead continuing to tiptoe through the kitchen. He pulled open the fridge door, careful not to hit Ulquiorra's dangling legs with it, and pulled out the carton of orange juice, wishing he was taller so he could reach the top shelf where Ulquiorra hid his favorite treats. He closed the door and yelped, nearly dropping the orange juice. Onii-chan's green eyes were watching him, and Toshiro swore that his Onii-chan was creepier than the ghosts from the stories his classmates told._

_In fact, Toshiro was sure that Onii-chan could scare a ghost by appearing out of nowhere. Anyway. He gulped, eyes wide. Ulquiorra merely stretched and ruffled Toshiro's hair. Toshiro looked down, hugging the orange juice to his chest. They didn't speak to each other for three torturously long and boring days. They never could stay angry at each other._

When Toshiro woke up Ulquiorra was still there. Still right in front of him. Toshiro groaned, rolled over and burrowed beneath the blankets. "Go away. Don't you have some other person to stare at?" He growled. He was greeted by silence. "I'm bored." He said, sitting up. He glared at Ulquiorra. "Isn't it your job to make me not bored?" He asked. The Arrancar visibly bristled. "My job, as you put it, is to serve Lord Aizen and arrange matters others are too incompetent for." He said. Toshiro rolled his eyes. "Right. You and Lord Aizen. I get it." He said. He watched the green eyes narrow at him. "You would well to remember your place, shinigami." Ulquiorra said.

Another eyes roll. Toshiro examined the bandages on his body and found them all clean. "Do you play Menko?" He asked. The blank look in Ulquiorra's eyes told him no. Toshiro sighed and leaned back. "You wouldn't happen to have work that needs doing or anything else I could do besides lay here?" He asked hopefully. Another blank look greeted him. Toshiro sighed and closed his eyes. The eternal night felt draining, making him feel more tired than normal. "When your legs recover, I suppose you may wander Hueco Mundo's grounds." Ulquiorra said. Toshiro looked at him, tried to identify what his brother was thinking. It failed, and he was left watching the Arrancar turn and leave the room with his hands shoved into his pockets.

Toshiro slept that night, or day, or whatever it was in Las Noches. And he dreamed.

_It was windy. Toshiro realized almost immediately that this was not his dream and it was not a flashback. It was somewhere he hadn't gone. It was a skyscraper in a city, and he watched someone walk out of the elevator. He recognized the shape of the shoulders, the black hair tussled by the gusts of wind. It was Ulquiorra. Toshiro realized with a start, that this was Ulquiorra's dream, Ulquiorra's flashback._

_Toshiro stood there and watched. This Ulquiorra looked closer to the age of the one before he and Toshiro had been hit by the bus. Toshiro realized he had never seen this Ulquiorra. He looked tired and weighed down by just the air around him. Toshiro stood on the balcony at the top of the world and watched his brother lean against the chain link fence, fingers curling around the metal and mournful eyes watching the traffic below. Then his brother was climbing the fence, teetering precariously at the top. Toshiro watched numbly as Ulquiorra closed his eyes._

_And watched him fall._

It made the hair on the back of his neck raise. He shivered and discovered that, in the night, the blanket had fallen off. He looked, half expecting to see Ulquiorra standing somewhere in the room. He wasn't, and Toshiro found it strangely disconcerting. He looked outside and saw the moon, thought he wasn't sure if that meant it was morning or afternoon. The door opened, and he must have surprised Ulquiorra by being awake, because he looked in time to see wide green eyes narrow at him, bandages in one hand and a bowl of something unfamiliar in the other. "They have not returned." He said.

Toshiro blinked. "What?" he asked. There was a spark of perplexity in his eyes, and Toshiro fisted the blanket. "Aizen-sama has not returned, and the others are dead." Ulquiorra said, and Toshiro's gut twisted. It all made sense, in the worst of ways. Toshiro died without anything holding him back from being collected by a Soul Reaper. That much was clear. He swallowed hard and looked back out the window. "Do you dream?" He asked. "…No." He heard. Slow enough to be a lie. Slow enough for Toshiro to know that Ulquiorra was starting to remember too.

After that Toshiro was left alone much more frequently. He did his best for the next two weeks to catch when and who entered the room, but failed. No matter how hard he tried every time he dozed was when someone came. He knew it was Ulquiorra, even as disjointed dreams reminded him of the life he used to live. After those two weeks was when he actually _saw_ someone again. Someone, of course, being Ulquiorra.

Two weeks later the door slid open. Toshiro had been in the middle of deciphering what the bandages were made of, since the material was obviously not the norm. Ulquiorra stood in the door, hands in his pockets and eyes the epitome of conflicted. But, he saw more of the Ulquiorra he had known as a human. "Your legs have likely recovered enough to attempt a short walk." He said. Toshiro shifted slightly, mind conjuring ideas of what 'recovered enough' could possibly mean. He held still as Ulquiorra unwrapped the bandages, relaxed when he saw new skin and only the barest of slashes that would leave scars. He swung each leg over the edge of the couch slowly, mildly surprised when Ulquiorra offered his arm for support. He heaved himself upward, swaying as he leaned heavily on Ulquiorra's arm.

They left the cell. Toshiro craned his neck to take in his surroundings. Everything was eerily quiet and still. He hobbled down the hall, taking in the pristine white of everything, looking out the windows over the desert, a stretch of white as far as he could see with a few twisted white trees.

When he finally was led back to his room it had been changed. A small table and two chairs sat in the room, a bed replaced the couch, and Toshiro had the feeling it wasn't spontaneous.

Days passed. Toshiro wobbled unsteadily down the halls as his legs healed, met the various fraccions still here, and saw more of his brother appearing in the Arrancar's eyes. "Come with me." Ulquiorra said one day. Toshiro frowned. They were in the middle of a Go game, and Toshiro was winning. "Why?" he asked. Ulquiorra gave a small shrug, another of the more human indications that he was in fact remembering. "We are going to walk." He said.

They went through doorways and halls that Toshiro didn't recognize. There were more fraccion in this area as well as adjucha, more like animals than the other things. "Where are we going?" Toshiro asked, eying the beings that scooted out of their way as quickly as possible. Ulquiorra didn't turn or answer and Toshiro narrowed his eyes, making sure to remember where they were going.

Huge doors sat at the end of the maze-like hallways, as white as anything else. They opened without any visible prompting, and then the desert lay out before Toshiro in all of its moonlit barren glory. A breeze tussled his hair. He hesitated and looked at Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra's eyes were deadpan as he continued into the desert.

Miles of empty desert stretched in all directions. The trees, Toshiro noted, weren't made of wood. Lizards scurried away when they came close, shadows moved below the sand. Toshiro chose to break the silence first. "You remember, don't you?" He asked. As quietly as he asked it seemed like a shout in the stillness of the sand.

Green met turquoise. He saw mix of pain and resignation in his Onii-san's eyes.

"Yes."

_Author's Note_

_I can't believe I actually finished it…I'm so out of my element writing Toshiro fanfics. This goes out to my sister FloweringLotus who __**does**__ write Toshiro H. fanfics and requested a story from me. So hard! D: Thank you for reading Rain! Constructive criticism and other reviews much appreciated! Please don't flame! It hurts my soul…_


	2. Chapter 2

_O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o Rain_

_"You remember, don't you?"_

_"Yes."_

A raindrop hit Ulquiorra then. He glanced at it, and then looked up at the sky. Another raindrop fell, and then another, and soon it was raining. It was rare for rain to fall. It seemed strangely appropriate. He looked back to where Toshiro stood and the pain in his chest intensified. His brother's right arm still hung uselessly at his side, his gait had only just begun returning to normal, and it was his fault. Ulquiorra frowned. Toshiro looked mildly pleased. Contented, even.

Those bright turquoise eyes were squinting at the sky, working arm out to catch the rare water that fell in heavy sheets. He knew the words he should say. _I'm sorry._ He had taken a psychology course as a human. He would feel better after saying it. He would be relieved by Toshiro's acceptance of that apology. It wouldn't come, though. In the end he swallowed hard and began walking back.

It was after they got back that Toshiro spoke again. Ulquiorra stood in the doorway, making sure that Toshiro was comfortable and had fresh bandages. "What happened that night with our parents? I…I'd like to know about them." Ulquiorra hesitated. These new surges of emotions and memories were alien to what he had known. But, in a way, familiar. He still had to dig to find what Toshiro was talking about. "Our mother was an alcoholic," he said. The words didn't seem right on his tongue. "Our father was abusive. You were…too young to remember. Our mother shot him that night and we lived with our grandmother until I became eighteen. Then I became your legal guardian."

Brief silence. Ulquiorra could see the questions even before Toshiro said anything.

"Were they always like that?"

"…No. On rare days we would do things together."

Toshiro looked down. "I see." Ulquiorra shifted his weight, about to shrug. He stopped himself. These new human habits were incredibly undignified. He cleared his throat, looking to the side. "I apologize for injuring your dominant arm and legs." He said. The pregnant silence seemed to drag on forever. Ulquiorra watched Toshiro who looked out the window and waited. Finally, "It's alright."

With that Ulquiorra backed out, the door closing. He wandered the halls, ignoring the movements in his peripheral vision, the lack of life that was becoming increasingly disturbing. He knew. Aizen was dead. No one would be coming back. He went into the throne room again, looking at the Hogyoku. The forbidden fruit. A source of limitless power that called to an Arrancar such as himself. The item that had sealed his doubt that Aizen would come back by its return to its pedestal, pulsing lightly. He turned, not looking back. He went to Szayel's lab for fresh bandages, went to Yammy's room for food that he could now tell was edible or not. He tried, once, to eat 'normal' food. He could taste it, enjoy it, but his stomach rejected it. It couldn't be helped, he supposed. He was an Arrancar. His diet was composed of the souls of those weaker than him.

These days his life was much like when he was alive. His world revolved around Toshiro anything else was extra. He made sure Toshiro was sleeping, and then left the box of food – his mind supplied 'pop tart' – on the small table.

That night he slept. He despised sleeping – it was a waste of time – and yet he required a certain measure of it. He lay on his back, waiting for the newfound memories/dreams to come.

And come they did.

_Tonight, it was a prelude to his first dream of jumping._

_They told him it was unfortunate. They told him he was lucky to have gotten away with only a small fracture. They told him they were sorry. It didn't help. After asserting that, yes, he was mentally well and no, he would not continue in a hospital room when his baby brother might never wake up again, he sat in the plastic chair by Toshiro's bed._

_Everything in here smelled of antiseptic and oxygen. It made Ulquiorra's stomach churn uncertainly and his head throb. He rested with his elbows propped on his knees. He couldn't sleep. He knew he needed to; his bags had bags. Already he had missed two days of work. He didn't care. He could miss months before he cared. Shiro-kun needed him. He needed to be here._

_Time went by. The doctors told him that his insides weren't healing properly. Ulquiorra stayed, silenced calls from well-meaning co-workers and his grandmother and anyone else who tried to contact him. A week later Toshiro woke up. Ulquiorra was thrilled, hiding his exhaustion. Three days after that they went home. Toshiro was in a wheel-chair until he was completely healed. Ulquiorra didn't care. The things he cared about were different. He cared about how Toshiro seemed more tired than usual. He cared about doing things with his right hand. He cared about how to get Toshiro's pills into a thin enough powder that Toshiro wouldn't notice them in his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He cared about getting watermelon ice-cream because Toshiro said his throat was sore._

_Three weeks later Toshiro died._

_Doctors told him that it was an aneurysm. They told him that his aorta had been weakened when the bus hit and caused internal bleeding. It didn't help, Ulquiorra noted bitterly, to know that his baby brother had died because the main artery of his heart had exploded._

_Going home that night hurt the most. He couldn't stay. He lay in bed at first, trying to sleep. But knowing the room across from his was empty was worse than leaving. At midnight he couldn't take anymore. He stood, left, and wandered the streets and in and out of pubs and sat on the bench in the park and tried to find a place where he wouldn't hurt quite as badly._

_It was after passing the middle school that Toshiro had just started attending that he broke down. For the first time in his twenty-one years he cried. He leaned against the brick and sobbed until he had nothing left to give. As the sun went up he made a choice. It seemed logical. He felt too hollow for it to be impulsive. He thought it out, found the tallest building, slipped inside and climbed the stairs._

And he woke up. His heart was racing, skin slick with cold sweat. He itched to get up and go to the cell, just to make sure. Just to make sure his younger brother was there and he wasn't dreaming or that it was empty and clean and he had been the subject in one of Szayel's hallucinatory experiments that Aizen granted him clearance to do.

Either way he needed to get up and move. He dressed quickly, striding out of the room.

It was darker than the day. Without the moon and without the canopy Las Noches was pitch black. Ulquiorra stopped in front of the cell, the door sliding open without a sound. The room was empty. He knew as soon as the door opened it was empty. A shred of a very human emotion rose, one that he refused to name at the moment.

Traces of reiatsu still lingered in the air. Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes, turning slightly. An adjucha had been here recently. If Aaroneiro had not been an adjucha himself he never would have recognized it. That emotion grew. Adjuchas did not come this deep into Las Noches, not since Aizen had come. The effects of Aizen's death were becoming clearer. He was sure even the fraccion knew by now. And apparently the adjucha did too.

He ran. He never ran. He realized this halfway down the hallway while following the scanty reiatsu trail. Then he sonídoed. The cero already crackling against his skin was more than enough to warn away the night monsters of Hueco Mundo. He would teach a measly adjucha who dared steal his brother for an easy meal. The path led out a side exit, one few knew about. Ulquiorra waited a moment for his vision to adjust, and then continued.

That emotion needed a name. He tried to identify what it was. After several normal humans' lifetimes of not feeling it was a little difficult. It should have been easy. Cross-referencing it with his memories should have made it go faster. He looked up, making sure he was still on the trail.

On the horizon was a speck of something very hard to find in Hueco Mundo. On the horizon was an oasis. He crossed the remaining distance in a matter of seconds, scrawny trees rustling as he stopped. He heard the angry hiss of the feral adjucha. But more than that, he saw the blank eyes staring back at him, the gaping red of the torn open chest, and the thin trail blood from the corner of his mouth.

That emotion was fear.

He lunged forward, ripping head from neck, arms from sockets, and the excuse for a heart from its chest. He stopped, half-focused on the adjucha's thin wailing to where Toshiro lay. The turquoise eyes flicked to him, empty. Ulquiorra flicked his hand to clear the blood, reaching out to the gaping wound. Blood flowed freely from the torn arteries that would have surrounded a heart. His hand shook. His mind unhelpfully supplied images of those he had killed in a similar manner and memories of being human in a hospital with sickly flickering fluorescent lights.

Carefully he picked up Toshiro and began to move. He knew what he had to do. He didn't like it, but he knew. He would not let his brother die this time. The minutes it had taken to get to the oasis felt like hours on his way back. The hallways that he knew so well seemed like endless mazes.

Then, the throne room. The Hogyoku seemed almost alive in its desire to serve. Ulquiorra moved forward, cradling Toshiro to his chest with one hand and reaching for the Hogyoku with the other. His hands were shaking as they closed around the small blue orb. Bright light erupted in the room. His eyes hurt as they hastened to adjust from total darkness to the blinding amount of light now in the room. He focused on the thought he wanted the Hogyoku to accomplish. _Heal him heal him heal him heal him heal him – _

As quickly as it had been there the blue orb went dark. Ulquiorra blinked rapidly as his eyes readjusted to the dark. What he saw made him go cold. Toshiro was fixed – where there had once been torn open flesh and missing organs was smooth unmarked skin. But, the bone mask stretching from over his right eye to the back of his head made Ulquiorra's chest ache. The design was eerily similar to that of a dragon, a somewhat familiar dragon. "What did it _do_ to you?" He murmured. He knew, though.

It was just that he held on to a shred of hope that insisted that perhaps it was a side-effect, not what it seemed. Anything but the hell that he may have just inflicted upon his younger brother, the brother he had wanted to protect at all costs. He took the unconscious Toshiro to Harribel's old room, depositing him on the bed. At least here Toshiro could get out and Ulquiorra would be relatively close by.

Again Ulquiorra could not sleep. He had forgotten something; he knew it. He just couldn't remember what though. It should have been important. And yet, it seemed like something Ulquiorra should have experienced if it _was_ important to being an Arrancar. At last, he fell into an uneasy sleep, muscles tensed to run if necessary. And, he dreamt.

_It was hot out. Ulquiorra was trying to finish the work his boss had assigned – the slave driver – and he still hadn't heard the end of it from eleven-year-old Toshiro. "Its sooooo hot and you __**promised**__ we would get watermelon and go to the beach and __**not**__ be hot for at least three hours. Is three hours so much to ask?" Ulquiorra sighed, setting down the pen. "I guess it can't be helped. Any hotter and my paper will burst into flames, and then I'll have no excuse not to go." He said, running a hand through his hair. He didn't miss the triumphant smirk. "I'll go get my baseball bat." Toshiro said, running down the hall._

_Ulquiorra stood and changed into swim trunks and a loose t-shirt, grabbing beach supplies. By the time he came to the front door Toshiro was there looking mildly annoyed, tapping the baseball against his shoulder. They walked to the nearest grocery store, getting half a dozen watermelons and taking the tram down to the boardwalk. The beach was crowded, hundreds of other people apparently having the same idea for such a sweltering day. Ulquiorra looked for a spot that looked as female-free as possible, one eye on Toshiro as the white-haired boy ran down to waves._

_As Ulquiorra finally found a spot away from where the bulk of the young women seemed to be, Toshiro came back, dragging the baseball bat with a sort of sick glee. Ulquiorra chose not to comment, slathering sunscreen on his equally pale brother. For the next three hours(exactly – he made it a point to count) they splashed through the waves, smashed hapless watermelons, and fended off flirtatious women. It had cooled off somewhat when they went back, Ulquiorra tired and sunburnt (go figure) and ready to try and siphon some of Toshiro's boundless energy._

He woke. Ulquiorra didn't know why, as he stared up at the pale ceiling. The answer came a few seconds later: the unmistakable sound of an adjucha dying. Ulquiorra was following the sound before he even knew what he was doing. His sleep-fogged mind was trying to catch up with what he was doing. He skidded to a stop. The pristine white walls were covered with blood. The dark smear told where someone was dragged, the hole indicating where someone was punched, the crouched figure and twitching body telling him the rest.

"Toshiro, step away from the adjucha." He said. Toshiro's head whipped around, teeth bared in a feral snarl. Ulquiorra took a step forward, narrowly avoiding the…something…smeared on the floor. A low growl rose in the still air. The hollow moaned, distracting Toshiro. Ulquiorra waited, both dreading and forced to accept what this was.

This was an Arrancar half-starved and devouring prey. He waited, careful not to make any sudden movements. Halfway through devouring the intestines Toshiro stopped, groaning. Ulquiorra watched confusion, realization, and then disgust pass over Toshiro's face. And then his younger brother was retching, leaning against the wall. Ulquiorra stepped forward, holding onto his brother's shoulder. "I'm sorry." He murmured. Toshiro groaned in reply.

"What _happened?_ I was _dying._ I _knew_ I was dying."

Guilt. Another foreign, very human, emotion. "I used the Hogyoku."

"_What?!_"

Guilt guilt guilt. Ulquiorra didn't like it. "It was the only thing I could think of."

"The Hogyoku _started_ the Arrancar problem. Why would you do that?"

"Technically, the Hogyoku helped remedy a _Vizard_ problem."

"That's not the point and you know it. Why?"

"I didn't want to lose you."

"…"

"I'm sorry, Toshiro."

"…"

They parted ways that night. Ulquiorra watched Toshiro dry heave more, and then walk back to where Ulquiorra had left him. Ulquiorra stood a long time in that bloodstained hallway, feeling the presence of fraccion who would clean the mess and eat the leftovers. Then, he too went back to his room, stripping out of the bloodstained clothe he had been wearing and dressing in a fresh uniform.

Tonight he slept without dreams.

When he woke Toshiro had crawled into his bed. It was curiously reminiscent of their human lives. The circumstances were so different it was almost laughable. Something else was flashing red warnings in his mind though. He slipped away, trying to pinpoint the anxiety he felt. Finally, on the east end of the castle, he found it. Foreign – and very powerful – reiatsu on the fringes of Las Noches reach.

Years of serving Aizen automatically provided several options. Kill the hostage. Defend the castle. Organize the remaining Arrancar and fraccion. Fight at all costs. But Aizen was dead, the army dead, the hostage definitely not going to die on his watch, and the remaining fraccion and Arrancar pathetic. He debated waking Toshiro up. It was likely him they had come to rescue, anyway. Ulquiorra stood on the balcony, feeling the reiatsu approaching.

Would they try to kill him, because he was an Arrancar now? Would they think Toshiro had lost his mind? That he was a traitor? Ulquiorra shoved his hands in his pockets and made a decision. He flared his reiatsu, no limits, and strong enough that it would mask Toshiro's, and went down to the gates. He was there when the Soul Society's army came, a handful of Soul Reapers with white coats and those with armbands. He stood there, drawing his blade slowly, ready to go into his second release and take down as many as he could before they slaughtered him.

"No!"

That single word seemed to release much of the tension in some of the Soul Reapers air. Ulquiorra stiffened, turning to Toshiro. Too late to try and convince him to go back. His younger brother looked different, drawing himself up in as much a dignified way as possible when your clothes are covered in crusted blood and half of your face is covered by a strange mask. "Matsumoto, come here." He said. Ulquiorra watched as a woman peeled from the group and ran forward. "I am Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya, Captain of Tenth Squad with Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto. I was initially abducted, but recently had the opportunity to escape. I did not." He paused, eyes raking the group of Captains. Ulquiorra waited, tense.

"Due to…circumstance and perhaps fate I regained the memories of my human life."

"Ulquiorra Schiffer, former fourth Espada of the traitor Sosuke Aizen's army,"

"Is my brother."

**A/N: Ello, Bubblegum here! Chapter Two! WOW! I wonder if I can make it before I get bored? I wonder if I'll be forced to write the ending under pain of watching my OTP die before my eyes? These questions and more! Thank you for reviews, views, read, favorites, follows, etc. Waaaaaah! Ulquiorra on the beach! Gotta go ;)**

Indentify: The act of making a dent.

Starnign: The medical condition of a star lodged in a human with no health danger.

Memoried: To steal memories. _Ex: You done been memoried, boy!_

Nto: Not to (be) observed [Alternative Spelling: ntbo]

Azes: Ages. _Ex: It's been azes since we saw Jennifer._

Aroynd: 1. To roll around 2. To be adjoined

Darkned: the act of darkening some(thing)(one)(where) _Ex: I darkned the house._

Issing: 1. Kissing _Ex: I saw them 'issing. _2. Missing _Ex: My puppy is 'issing_ 3. Hissing _Ex: The snake was 'issing. _4. Dissing _Ex: he was 'issing me._

Ehis: Yes.

Oerhaps

Unmistable: Not capable of being misted

Foor

HCow

Jallway

Orgqanize


	3. Chapter 3

_O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o Rain_

"_Ulquiorra Schiffer, former fourth Espada of the traitor Sosuke Aizen's army,"_

"_Is my brother."_

It was deathly quiet. If crickets existed in Hueco Mundo Toshiro was sure that one would be chirping. Because not even Rangiku spoke. He looked at the Captains Head Captain had sent. He recognized Kuchiki, Kenpachi, and Soi Fon. He saw their Lieutenants and waited.

When no response came, he continued. "I was in a weakened state when an Adjucha attacked me. If not for _my brother_ I would be dead. But, as a side-effect, I became an Arrancar."

Everything happened then. A flurry of commotion and questions and Ulquiorra glaring death daggers at everyone and some rambunctious newbie in the back released a bakudō and it hit Soi Fon.

In the end enough order was restored to speak. In the end Toshiro followed the makeshift squad through the desert to where the gate was waiting. Ulquiorra seemed as disgruntled as Byakuya and Soi Fon did, but Toshiro ignored it. Not too long ago they had been on opposite sides of a war, sworn to kill each other. When they finally reached the gate Ulquiorra commented tersely that he could have opened a Gargantua at Las Noches instead of trekking to the gate.

Toshiro resisted the urge to whack him; instead he consoled himself with that by _not_ hitting his Onii-chan he would set a good example for the other captains. They passed through the gate, a clearly confused (and shady, in Toshiro's opinion) Kisuke Urahara. From there they passed into the Soul Society. From there, they went to the Head Captain. Toshiro braced himself for the coming rant that would likely wake everyone within twelve miles.

Come it did. Toshiro waited, waited for the Captains to vote on a decision, waited to know what his fate would be, stressed over every possible outcome and wondered if maybe he could send brainwaves to prevent Ulquiorra from doing something stupid or disrespectful out of simply not knowing about the Souls Society. They waited outside of the room, together. "Shiro, promise me that when we are separated we will both find each other again." Ulquiorra said.

Toshiro frowned at Ulquiorra. "You mean 'if'." He corrected. Ulquiorra blinked, once, and nodded. "I suppose. 'If' we are separated, promise me." Toshiro hesitated, listening to the various arguments presented by the different captains. "If we're separated, I promise we'll find each other." He said. The room behind them hushed, voices too soft to make out, and then the door slid open. "We have reached a decision." Head Captain said. "Toshiro Hitsugaya will return to his post as Captain of the Tenth Squad." A brief silence followed, glances cast around the room to see if any disagreed. "Ulquiorra Schiffer will be sentenced to life as a human for his crimes against the Soul Society, but not death because of his relationship to Captain Hitsugaya and in light of recent events. You are dismissed."

It felt like his other half was being ripped away. Ulquiorra gave him a very _I-told-you-so_ look, before being escorted away.

When he got over the shock enough to speak or protest they were gone. It was already strange to be separated. Already strange not to have that presence by his side, and it had been mere seconds. Toshiro bowed. "Yes, sir." He said. His squad looked at him differently. Rangiku, in between spouts of airheaded talk, asked hesitantly if he was alright.

No, he wasn't alright. But it went deeper than that. It went through middle school and sleepovers at Grandma's house and defending his socially awkward brother from girls that hit on him. It went through a life, as short as it was, where their family of two was the most important thing.

But he couldn't tell that to anyone and expect them to understand. So he acted annoyed and waved her off and assured everyone who asked that he was fine. Three years passed. The pain numbed over time and Toshiro focused on other things in life: His surprising new growth spurt, exploring Arrancar abilities to the full, training and dispatching hollows and visiting Karin in the World of the Living.

He was on leave for a month, a surprising amount of time considering the jump in hollows. But he didn't question it, entering his gigai and going to the world of the living to the Kurosaki's. He stood on the porch, rang the doorbell, and waited. It was warm out, spring in full swing and all the trees in full bloom. The door swung open, an excited looking Yuzu on the other side. "Yay! Ichigo-san said you would come! This is going to be so fun!" Toshiro frowned. "Fun?" He asked.

Ichigo's head poked around the corner. "You're coming with us to America on vacation. Yuzu is just excited because she'll finally get to use the English she learned in school." He said. Toshiro scowled. "So that's why I suddenly was dismissed." He grumbled. He walked in, Yuzu spinning through the kitchen in front of him. "Don't be grumpy! You'll get to hang out with Karin the whole time." Ichigo called from the other room. "I heard that!" Toshiro heard Karin call from somewhere upstairs.

They got on the plane later that day. Toshiro wondered if there were Soul Reapers in this 'America' and tried his best to block out Yuzu and Isshin's incessant and overly joyful chatter. It was dark when a strange green statue came into view, tall buildings crowding the skyline.

Getting off the plane was even more interesting. Curious things were all around, and they bustled to the 'hotel'.

In the morning Toshiro braced himself for whatever the Kurosaki family would throw at him today. Twenty-nine days left until he needed to go home. They walked down the street, both Isshin and Yuzu squealing and rushing at everything. It made it hard to keep track of where they were going, Toshiro noted. Yuzu suddenly squealed particularly loudly, hopping in place. He winced. "Let's go in and get something! It's a café! They sell coffee and weird food and stuff!" The blonde girl exclaimed.

Inside was a barrage of smells. Toshiro sighed, following the noisy pair to a table. He raised an eyebrow at the paper cup offered to him, taking an experimental sip. As he was sitting down he saw it. Or rather, he saw _him._ The slender man was sitting across the café, dressed in a business suit and sipping some steaming drink, eyes unfocused despite the other man gesturing wildly in front of him. Toshiro stared, cup halfway to his mouth, because there was Ulquiorra Schiffer.

A poke in his arm dragged him back to earth. "What are you looking at?" Yuzu asked. Toshiro shrugged. "Nothing." He said, standing from the table. "Toshiro, don't interfere." Ichigo said. Toshiro scowled. "I'm not interfering." He said. "Toshiro, he doesn't remember you. As far as he knows he has foster parents who send him to work and study abroad. He _doesn't remember you _and _you shouldn't interfere._" Toshiro glared at the orange haired teenager. "I have not received orders to stay away; I'm not going to." He snapped.

With that he slid through the tables full of English-speaking people to where the babbling American and his brother sat. "Excuse me; you're Ulquiorra Schiffer, right?" Toshiro asked. Green eyes met turquoise. "Yes. May I ask why you know my name?" Ulquiorra asked. Toshiro felt the tension in his shoulders dissipate. Even without any recognition in his Onii-chan's eyes it was start. A new start, without the responsibilities of a war being waged. "My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya."

It was the longest moment Toshiro had ever lived through. He had been in moments on the battlefield where times slowed down and he had a moment that felt like forever to make a choice, to choose his plan of attack. He had moments where he could have or should have done something and didn't. "Ulquiorra Schiffer." Ulquiorra said after what felt like a lifetime. Toshiro felt the breath he didn't know he was holding escape. "It's really good to meet you." Toshiro said.

Reality crashed too soon. With no war to keep them together there was no reason for Ulquiorra to remember him, no reason for the black haired former Espada to _try_. Toshiro's smile faltered as Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow, turning back to the animated man across from him who was daring daggers through Toshiro. "You made me promise." He said. Ulquiorra turned back, a frown settling on his face. Toshiro cleared his throat, prayed to whatever deity favored him that this would work and that not too much time had passed. "You made me promise that _when_ we were separated we would find each other again. Well, I found you."

Silence filled the air. Ulquiorra's frown faded into nothing, and then a surprising amount of emotion flitted over his face, a lifetime coming back in seconds. "So you did." Ulquiorra said, more tonelessly than before. And Toshiro grinned wider, more reminiscent of his younger human self than who he was now. Because he doubted lifetimes could separate them. They would find each other, every time. Maybe as different people and different ages and different positions, but they would be reunited again. Always.

**A/U: This was evil. I will post a sequel/second/companion piece as I get inspired. Thanks!**


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